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Spotlight: The Evolution of Active Rock

I’ll be frank with you: “Active rock” is a rather awkward-sounding phrase, one that reeks of a radio programmer’s desperate attempt to will into existence a new demographic of rock fan. But while you, me and my Aunt Louise all can bemoan such seemingly dubious marketing ploys, it doesn’t mean the concept behind the phrase is bunk. Quite the opposite, in fact. What active rock attempts to define is the all too fluid yet very real commercial zone that exists between classic rock and alternative rock. Granted, it’s a zone that didn’t necessarily exist before the rise of grunge in the mid-’90s. However, by reconciling ’70s rock hooks and punk-inspired grittiness, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains uprooted the signs and signifiers that traditionally distinguished fans of underground rock from their more mainstream-oriented counterparts. In the process, they fundamentally altered the pop landscape.

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